Early voting for local option sales tax is underway

Monday, February 11, 2019 11:03 AM

Voters in six Polk County communities are getting a jump on the March 5 special election to adopt a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, with 522 ballots mailed from the auditor’s office and 149 returned in the first week that early voting has been open. Des Moines residents have asked for 456 ballots and returned 125, Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald said. Elsewhere, West Des Moines voters have asked for 47 ballots and returned 16; Pleasant Hill, 17 and four; Windsor Heights, 11 and three; Altoona, two and one. Voters in Alleman have not requested any early ballots. Residents in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights approved the local option sales tax last year, when their votes were counted along with all others cast in the county. The issue failed countywide. In the closing hours of last year’s Iowa General Assembly, lawmakers voted to allow communities that shared borders to hold local option sales tax elections among their residents. Voters can request an early ballot through 5 p.m. Feb. 22, with early voting in person open through 5 p.m. the day before the special election. The extra revenue will be collected beginning July 1 in communities that approve the tax.